


Steady as She Goes

by turkish_delight



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Beta Wanted, Gen, M/M, Rating May Change, mermaid au, sea captain au, spock is a mermaid because writing is power
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 03:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5149142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turkish_delight/pseuds/turkish_delight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sea Captain James T. Kirk and his crew find themselves trapped in a violent storm; and they make an incredible discovery that will define the Captain's life from then on out.</p><p>Alternate summary: I'm on a sailor kick right now and mermaid!Spock just makes sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starships and Ion Storms

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: This work is in need of a beta reader, please comment if you're interested.  
> Otherwise, enjoy! I'll try to update weekly.

 ---

 

The waves grip the hull in a vice, and once more the ship is sent into a sickening lurch that nearly clears the deck, bodies flung overboard, screaming into the churning black water. Kirk locks one arm around the rail as another braces against the wheel, but between the deafening rain and the walls of sea spray that clash against the ship, he struggles to regain control.

“Men overboard!” he shouts, knowing well enough that he will not be heard. Another shock of thunder cracks through the air. Kirk can only tremble at the power. This is one adversary he cannot beat with plain force.

Nature always wins.

 

“Captain!” he can barely make out Sulu’s voice. Kirk blinks the freezing salt water from his eyes to see his Helmsman approach, pulling himself along the rail to keep from being knocked over. Sulu’s hair is slicked down in his face from the relentless downpour, and when lightning floods the sky with a split-second of white light, Kirk sees thin red trails of blood across his face. As Sulu speaks, drops of water sputter out with the words.

He takes a hold of the wheel just before Kirk’s grip slips, “Captain, we’re stuck in the swell! We’ll have to ride it out!”

Kirk stares up at the angry clouds, struggling to see past the rain. “Can you get us stable?”

Sulu nods. Between the two of them, they manage to align the ship with the waves; and although the Enterprise still rocks in a sickening motion, the crew is able to regain most of their footing.

 

When Kirk finally takes a cautious step away from the wheel, certain that his Helmsman had reigned in the beast as well as a ship caught in a storm could be reigned, he surveys the damage. The deck is noticeably thinner than it had been when the storm began. The Captain estimates at least four of his crew were swallowed in the chaos, lost to a numbing plummet into an infinitely deep and terrifying ocean. He forces back a jolt of nausea at the thought.  

He sees Uhura and Chekov huddled not too far along the rail, and lets relief take over while he makes his way to his friends. At least these two are alive.

 

"Keptin!" Chekov shouts, wearing an expression of his own relief on his wet face as lightning illuminates the deck once more. The boy had harbored a healthy dose of hero-worship toward his Captain since the moment they met, and Uhura had served with him on previous ships until he asked her to be his Translator and confidante on the Enterprise. Both she and Chekov had been more than a little nervous, wondering if the man had gone overboard during the worst bout of waves. They needn't have worried, of course; Captain Kirk is the most talented young officer in the fleet. He knows what he's doing.

 

Kirk crouches down next to them in the partial cover of a storage box. "Are you two holding out alright?"

A shaken and sickened Uhura nods, followed by a choked "A-aye Keptin!" from Chekov. So no, they aren't holding out alright. Nobody is.

Another wave hits the hull in full force and Jim barely manages to grab hold of the slick rail before the ship tilts on its side, bringing with it another massive wash of icy sea water that numbs him to the legs and threatens to throw him straight over the edge. The ship does another sickening roll back to the left, and finally rights itself again. The entire deck crew groans. Sulu looks absolutely blanched behind the wheel, but he doesn't once let go. Kirk makes a mental note to give everyone a very long shore leave once this is all over.

 

"Chekov?" he hears Uhura say, and suddenly he feels even colder than the water that swirls around them. Chekov is gone.

 

\---

 

"Chekov!" both he and Uhura echo each other with force as they lean over the rail's edge, searching for any sign of the boy in the frothing water.

"Captain, look!" Uhura grabs his shoulder. She is shaking, and he knows it's not just because of the cold. Chekov's face barely breaks the surface of the water before he is dunked back under by another wave.

He knows it is a matter of minutes before the boy drowns.

 

Kirk is really goddamn sick of watching his crew go under.

“I’ll get him” Kirk declares, eyes locked on the thrashing figure in the water as he strips off his coat and boots.

“Wh- no! You can’t be serious! Capt- Jim, stop! You’ll just drown too!” Uhura’s protests fall on deaf ears.

He knows she has a point, he really does, but Jim Kirk always had a tendency to just leap without looking.

And he does.

God, the water is cold.

 

\---

 

Uhura grips the rail and watches in horror as her captain plunges into the angry ocean.

“All hands! Captain overboard!” She waits for the ship’s rocking to slow and lunges for a rope.

Scotty hurries to her side and immediately they set on securing the rope to a wooden board for Kirk to grab onto. When she looks over the edge again, she sees the Captain struggling to tread water with a nearly unconscious Chekov in his arms.

Scotty’s gaze wanders out helplessly beyond them, to where the water swirls in preparation for another round of violence, “Lass… we won’t be able to pull ‘em both out in time.”

The two look like ghosts against the dark ocean and it makes Uhura’s stomach knot up.

God, that water is cold.

 

\---

 

Chekov doesn’t remember much after falling into the water.

When he wakes up, he feels a heavy blanket draped over him and hears a light patter of rain outside. His throat feels raw and his eyes burn when he finally opens them. Doctor McCoy’s voice is grating on his ears. He just wants to sleep.

“Come on, Kid, wake up. I gotta make sure you aint dead too” McCoy says, fully intending to let him go back to sleep (God knows they all need it) but his tone comes out darker than he had intended and Chekov really does sit up.

“…Doctor?” Chekov and his bleary eyes scan around the conference room below deck; he sees Uhura and Scotty slumped in their seats at the Captain’s desk, the two staring blankly at a near-empty bottle of rum. The Doctor smells like alcohol, too, now that he notices it. Chekov pulls the blanket tighter around himself as realization dawns on him, “Doctor… where is the Captain?”

McCoy begins to answer, but his throat chokes up. His hands are shaking. Now would be a really good time for more alcohol.

It’s Uhura who finally speaks,

“Jim Kirk is dead.”


	2. Define Us Both

\---

 

"...Dead?" Chekov echoes, his voice cracking. His friends are silent. "Are you sure?"

"I'm afraid so, Laddie," Scotty says gruffly. There's a glimmer of tears in his eyes as he pointedly refuses to look away from the bottle of rum, "We saw 'im go under. Barely managed to get you out, at that."

All color drains from the boy's face and this time he's certain he'll throw up. But McCoy puts a hand on his back and gives him a firm shake, "Come on, now. It's not your fault; Jim would've done the same for any of us. You know that."

Chekov nods, but his heart feels cold. He knows Doctor McCoy and Captain Kirk are-… were… best friends.

"Hhm..." Uhura clears her throat, settling her head on her arms, "What do we… what do we do now?" In all honesty, she doesn't really expect an answer.

"Well, here's one thing we can do," comes Sulu's voice as he finally descends the steps to join them. Everyone looks up to see their battered Helmsman drop into his spot at the table with a sigh, dabbing at his bloodied forehead with a towel, "There's an island not far from here. We go to it. We repair our ship," he gets a half-hearted smile from Scotty at that, "And if there's even a _chance_ that any of our crew survived, they'll wind up there too."

 

Now they’re all sitting a little straighter, eyes a little brighter.

Everyone knows better than to get their hopes up, but when did "knowing better" ever stop them.

 

McCoy can't help but flash a smile before resuming his resting scowl,

“Alright, kid, set a course.

But first let me take a look at ya."

 

\---

 

The first thing in Kirk's awareness is a splitting headache.

The second is a full-body burn, unique to the insidious combination of salt water and sand. He feels like he just crawled out of a blender.

The third thing is... a cold hand on his face?

 

Kirk's eyes crack open wide and he sees a man staring right back at him only inches away; the contact of his hand quickly withdrawn. Kirk sucks in a gasp and it sends him lurching forward into a coughing fit that leaves him dizzy.

 

Soon a large conic shell is pushed into his hands.

"You must drink."

Between bouts of coughing, Kirk drinks. The taste of sweet, fresh water nearly brings tears to his eyes. When he's done, his throat is raw but blissfully clear of the salty grime of the sea.

"Thank you,” he sighs, and finally takes a look at the man in front of him.

 

"I wish to apologize for looking into your mind without explicit permission," the man says, and if Jim had been paying attention he would have asked for clarification, "Please understand that it was for the sole purpose of determining how to help you efficiently."

The Captain's jaw hangs open and his sea-guardian wonders if he had perhaps hit his head during the storm. He really does regret performing a mind-meld on a stranger, but he had few options. He had hoped the human would understand.

 

Kirk's brain finally reboots itself and the first thing he says is, "You're green."

The man's response is indulgent, "...Yes, I am aware."

"Pointy ears."

"Again, I know."

"Tail!"

"Brilliant observations."

"You're a mermaid!"

"Half, yes."

"Half?"

"I refuse to discuss my genealogy with a sailor who does not even have the intelligence to stay on-board his ship in the midst of a storm."

Kirk shuts up for a second, taking offense. But getting an insult from a beautiful man-fish who just saved his life turns out to be more hilarious than insulting, so Kirk just doubles over with a hearty, near-hysteric laugh.

 

His mermaid friend decides that he's had enough of this silliness. With snake-like grace, his long tail curls across the tide pools as he turns to face the sea. He has done more than enough here.

Kirk quickly grabs his hand before he leaves, "Wait!"

The merman stares at the hand-to-hand contact with a particularly reproachful frown so Kirk quickly lets go, still urging him to stay, "Wait. Please, you saved my life. I don't know how it goes where you come from, but I- in my world... I owe you one."

His use of colloquialisms earns him a raised eyebrow, but he seems to get his point across.

The merman sighs and stares out into the horizon, the distant sunrise tinting the world with peach. From the rocky tide pools where they sit, they can see to the left a shimmering sandy beach, to the right a dense forest, and above them the storm clouds have moved off to let five morning gulls take their place in the sky. Kirk swears he's never seen a view more breathtaking.

"My name is Spock."

 

\---

 

"Spock?"

"Correct."

Jim smirks, "They don't have last names where you come from?"

Spock doesn't roll his eyes, but Jim just knows he wants to, "You and your limited vocal range would be unable to pronounce my full name."

"Alright, fair enough!" Jim laughs, feeling like himself again, "My crew calls me Captain James T. Kirk, but strange fish-folk who’ve saved my life can just call me Jim." He offers his hand for a shake but Spock simply glares at it again. He supposes the gesture might be offensive in mermaid culture.

"On land this is just a sign of good faith, of friendship," Kirk explains, not wanting to piss off Spock with cultural differences.

Spock raises an eyebrow, but he decides to gingerly accept the handshake. If Jim didn't know better, he'd say Spock was blushing.

"Captain."

"Mr. Spock."

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's Chapter 2! I was going to post it later but I got a little too excited.  
> See you all next week!


	3. Where No One Has Gone Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a little more than a week to post, but this one is quite a bit longer so I hope it evens out.  
> As always, enjoy!

\---

 

Kirk must've drifted back to sleep at some point, because he wakes up to the sight of the sun high above him. He still feels quite like he nearly drowned, his head aches, his hair is wild, and his clothes reek of damp seawater. Nonetheless, more than anything he feels... alive. 

He lets out a long, well-deserved yawn, "Eesh, yeah, still alive. Thanks to you, Sp-" he stops himself, suddenly realizing that his new friend is nowhere to be seen. He can't help how his heart sinks. 

He manages to stand up and looks out at the tide pools, hoping to see some sign of a tail or green skin.

 

Not a trace.

 

Kirk frowns. He considers the possibility that he just washed up here during high tide, without drowning somehow. Spock could simply be a product of his subconscious mind.

Or maybe it all  _was_  real and Spock just left without as much as a "goodbye." 

He's not really satisfied with either scenario.

 

A gentle splash of water behind him catches his attention, and he turns to see Spock surface through a deep tunnel in a particularly large pool. Kirk doesn't attempt to hide his joy. 

"Spock! You came back!"

Spock nods and places two fish on the sandstone before Kirk, "Of course, Captain. It would be most irresponsible of me to simply leave you here."

Kirk laughs and gratefully accepts the fish, "I could fend for myself, you know," he says, ignoring the irony of his recent reaction to the thought of being alone. His stomach decides that moment to growl aggressively and Spock raises an eyebrow. "Eh, besides, you've gone out of your way for me enough as it is, right? You must have lots of... mermaid... business to deal with, so- Thank you, is what I mean to say."

 

Spock shifts his posture in the water to look more professional, "Actually, Captain; I wish to ask you for a favor."

Kirk snorts in disbelief, "Yeah, sure, I don't know if I have anything to offer right now but-"

 

"I would like you to meet my mother."

 

\---

 

"Your what now?"

"My mother. She lives on this island with a small group of sailors who, like yourself, found themselves trapped here after a particularly potent storm."

"There are others here? Why didn't you say so earlier, that's fantastic!" Kirk's eyes light up with hope. Maybe he'll make the most of a crappy situation after all.

Spock might look vaguely apologetic, but it's hard to tell past his serious features, "I wished to first be certain of your agreeable character. It is my mother, after all."

Kirk nods, "You're protecting her." He feels his heart twist and he doesn't quite know why. He lets the warm grin take over his visage regardless, "But, Mr. Spock, it's hard to be certain of a person's character. For all you know I could be an escaped convict, a thief, a murderer." 

Spock simply shakes his head, deciding to withhold an explanation of his previous mind-meld with the human purely for the sake of time. He cuts straight to business, "Captain, your ship sustained damage during the storm, but unlike theirs I am quite certain it was not wrecked. This island is a logical place to land for repairs. If your ship does, indeed, arrive; I would like my mother and her people to have an opportunity to leave with you."

Kirk looks at Spock with new understanding. 

Again he nods, 

"Of course, Spock."

 

\---

 

"Come on, Mr. Scott, put your back into it!" 

"I  _am_ , ya wee little bastard! Stop complainin' and lift more on your side!"

"Stop fighting, you two."

"All this yappin' is giving me a headache." 

"Do you need ze ibuprofen, Doctor?"

"What I  _need_  is some goddamn peace and quiet!" McCoy shouts with genuine anger and frustration, and the immediate chatter around them comes to a halt. Sulu and Scotty set down the wooden beam they carry in their arms, Uhura and Chekov look up from the map they had lain out on the sand, and Doctor McCoy sighs and scrubs his face with his palms. Everyone looks absolutely wrecked.

After a beat of silence, Sulu sits himself down in the sand, "Well! I think we should take a break. All in favor?"

 

\---

 

As soon as they had safely landed on the shore and all of the crew's injuries had been seen to, McCoy had nothing to do but dwell on misery and drink.

Jim was the epitome of everything good in his life; a symbol of everything mankind strives for. It disturbs him to think that all that dignity, and friendship, and  _happiness_  could be just... gone. It's like watching the sun go out.

His best friend is dead.

He repeats it over and over, trying to accept the unacceptable.

 

Jim Kirk is dead, and he couldn't do anything but watch the waves eat him alive.

 

He's so deep in self-hatred that he doesn't notice when Scotty pulls up a chair to sit beside him. 

"...Doctor McCoy..." he begins, but McCoy doesn't even blink at him. He hesitantly touches the man's shoulder, cautious as one might be to comfort a wounded lion, "Leonard. Please, ye can't have done anything," McCoy tenses up, but Scotty continues in an even tone, "Sometimes we lose. It's a part of life as much as anything else."

McCoy finally looks at Mr. Scott for a long moment, and finds only compassion and empathy staring back at him. He breathes out a broken sigh and puts his face in his hands to hide the tears that sting at his tired eyes. Scotty wordlessly puts his arm around the Doctor's shoulders and leans his head against him. 

"My God, I just want him back."

"We all do, Doctor."

If McCoy cries in Scotty's arms, neither will admit to it. 

 

\---

 

"Woo! Oh man, tell me more about your mom, Spock, she sounds like a real character!" 

Spock has adjusted to the thunderous noise that is Jim Kirk's laughter, and finds himself looking to trigger more of it as they make their way into the heart of the island. Spock alternates between swimming along the wide river, as he does now, and diving into an intricate web of underwater tunnels while Kirk does his best to keep up on foot.

 

"There was a time, she once told me, that my Father tried to teach her the ways of hunting fish," Jim is laughing again before Spock can even reach the conclusion. Fascinating. "She waded through the water for hours, but when she finally caught one - a very large fish, according to her - she found she did not want to kill it. She claims she still has the scars on her face from its thrashing before she released it." 

Jim laughs harder than ever. He's seen some strange family dynamics in his time, but Spock's really takes the cake. He wants to know everything. 

 

Spock pauses and takes a glance between the darkening sky and Kirk's condition, "Perhaps here is a good place to rest for the night. We will be able to finish this journey in the morning." 

Kirk suddenly realizes how tired he is, how his bare feet sting and ache, how his lungs burn, and he nods, "Aye-aye, Mr. Spock. Goodnight."

 

\---

 

Uhura climbs the ropes to where Sulu sits on the mast, the cool sea breeze ruffling his already messy hair as the sun sets behind him, "Sulu, the crew's getting tired. It's been a long day, morale is shot, maybe it's time to call everyone in."

Sulu quickly nods in agreement, a little alarmed that he hadn't thought to do so already. He's doing the best he can as Acting Captain, and he has the respect of his crew, but Kirk's are some very big shoes to fill. He swears he's never been more stressed in his life. 

 

"Alright, *ahm*, that's enough for tonight!" Sulu announces from aboard the ship, "We can finish repairing what's left tomorrow. Right now everyone needs to get a full meal and a good sleep."

The crew lets out a collective sigh of appreciation, and slowly people begin returning to the Enterprise.

 

He looks a little shaken when he turns back to Uhura, but she just smiles at him, "You're doing very well, Captain Sulu. I know Jim would be proud." 

Sulu averts his gaze, warmed by the encouragement.

"Wery well indeed!" Chekov says emphatically, climbing up to join them. He holds a map and an encyclopedia in one hand, "May I make a suggestion?"

Sulu smiles fondly, "Suggest away."

The young Navigator points to a blank space on the map, "Okay, we thought we had landed on Romula, which is also a pretty large and uninhabited island, but the storm took us many miles farther than we originally thought. Zis is where we are, I am certain of it," his audience of two stares at the spot, "See? It is undiscovered territory!" 

"So, you're saying we're the first ones here?" comes Uhura's excited, hushed voice.

"Theoretically, yes." 

Sulu's face lights up. This is the first time the Enterprise has  _discovered_  an island this large and promising for human habitation. If they could establish a trade post here...

"We need to see if the island is safe to live on," Sulu says, Chekov and Uhura practically radiating with excitement, "First thing tomorrow morning! Yeah, that'll boost morale ten-fold, at least!"

Sulu and Uhura each put an arm around the Russian teenage genius and squeeze him between them until his sides hurt from laughing, 

"Thank you, Chekov."

 

That night, despite the haunting memories of a nightmarish storm, Uhura dreams of coconut trees and virgin waterfalls.

Explorers are so easy to please.

 


	4. Boldly Going

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo sorry for the delay; I used up a lot of my free time on studying for finals, and then I felt ashamed about going afk so I've just been sitting on this chapter for a while oops.  
> Thanks for reading and kudo-ing and commenting, my friends! You light up my life. LLAP

Kirk wakes up with a low groan in place of a yawn. He feels his energy returning, but the ache from his ordeal has only worsened with his lack of motion in the night. He looks up to see the sun already climbing into the sky; realizes that Spock must have let him sleep for the better part of ten hours.

He silently turns to watch the merman resting in the slow river, simply experiencing the sensation of gentle water running over his shoulders and through his short, ink-black hair. He looks so calm. Kirk's eyes trail along his spine, follow the smooth curves of his hips and tail. His iridescent green scales reflect the morning sunlight, scattering a hundred points of glittering light along the river. Kirk props his head up on his forearms and just appreciates the design.

For a moment, he muses dreamily on his near-death experience; without it, he never would have met an _actual mermaid_ \- let alone _befriended_ one as beautiful and endearing as Spock.

In the next moment he remembers his responsibilities as Captain of an entire ship, remembers the condition in which he left his crew, and he practically jumps upright as his carefree reverie shatters around him, "The Enterprise!"

Spock ends his meditative trance at the sudden outburst, surfaces at the edge of the river, and addresses Kirk, "Ah, Captain, I see you are awake. While you slept I-"

"My crew. Spock, I've abandoned them for so long. They probably think I'm dead. Oh God, they might be dead too for all I know." Kirk groans, feeling sick.

Spock quickly cuts short what was sure to be a long, guilt-induced diatribe, "Captain, are not your crewmen skilled in their duties?"

Kirk still seems frustrated but he immediately jumps into defense, "Of course they are, Spock; my crew is the best in the fleet!"

Spock raises a smug eyebrow, "Then I suggest that you trust in their competency while you are away, and instead focus on your plan to return to them." Kirk nods slowly, quelling his emotional upheavals as Spock trails on, "You may take additional comfort in the fact that while you slept, I traveled ahead and notified my mother of our arrival... Apparently one of her own crewmates has claimed to see firepit smoke along the southern beach-"

"Smoke? Was it my ship?"

Spock gives him another disapproving stare for interrupting, "Perhaps, perhaps not. It was seen quite late at night, and human minds tend to be unreliable in the dark. A search party should have been sent out by now to investigate."

"My God, Spock, it could be them! Let's go!" Kirk's eyes twinkle bright with hope, which the green man considers an irrational response to the highly uncertain news.

"It could equally as likely _not_ be them, Captain."

Kirk shakes his head dismissively, eager to move, "Just lead the way, Mr. Spock. Time is money, after all."

"..Of course, Captain."

\---

"Find anything yet, Sulu?" Uhura shouts, pulling her boot free from a mud-puddle with an unappealing sucking noise, mud splattering back towards her when she finally frees it.

"No, not yet! There're too many vines, I feel like we're barely making any progress," Sulu shouts back, his hands already red from slashing through vegetation with his machete.

McCoy drags on between Sulu and Uhura, trudging through the 'damned tropical forest,' grumbling constantly about nothing and everything.

The rest of the bridge crew had figured some fresh air and activity would help to clear the doctor's heavily-burdened mind, but all he feels now is bitterness and frustration to add to his grief and loss. Uhura and Sulu had only barely managed to convince him to join their away mission by playing the "What-if-we-get-injured-out-there-and-need-medical-attention" Card. He had told them to fuck off, but of course he showed up when they were ready to leave. He wouldn't be able to handle it if either of them really did get hurt without him there.

But now, struggling to move through this dense patch of vines and reeds and mud, McCoy curses his decision to go. "Whole lot of good _compassion_ has ever done me," McCoy mutters to himself.

"What was that, Doc?" Sulu shouts, stepping even further ahead of the other two.

"Aah, nothin', go back to your slashin' and hackin' and-"

"Doctor, quiet please! I think I heard something. Sulu, slow down!" Uhura hisses in the loud-whisper that people use when they need to be quiet but want to shout.

Sulu pauses in his tracks. The only noises they hear are caused by the insects and small animals of the humid forest. Uhura frowns, still anxious, but Sulu shrugs and continues their previous trajectory in silence. Eventually they see a clear beam of light shining through the vines and their pace quickens, each one of them eager to be free of the dense vegetation.

"Hah! Look at that beauty!" Sulu declares as they reach the clearing, a lush oasis split by a clear river, and tosses down the machete with a grateful flick of the wrist, "And it looks like our little paranoia was unfounded after a- _AGH_!"

A rope tightens around Sulu's ankle and he is swept off his feet, flipped upside-down and hoisted five feet into the air in one fell swoop. Uhura lets out a startled yelp and pulls Doctor McCoy back, away from the traps.

Sulu tries to stifle his scream, but pain shoots straight through his ankle and every motion only tightens the knot.

"Sulu! Stay calm, we'll get you down!" Uhura shouts, picking up the machete.

McCoy releases his usual slew of curses while simultaneously preparing to treat his friend for a probable bone fracture, possibly torn ligaments, almost certainly a sprain.

Everyone freezes again when they hear a shout, a new voice, a woman's, from across the stream, " _Who's there?!_ "

Sulu tries his best to ignore the pain in his ankle and the blood rushing to his head. McCoy is about ready for a brawl, but Uhura puts a hand on his shoulder and stands straight, shouts back over to the voice's source, "We're just.. we're shipwrecked explorers! We thought this island was uninhabited, but it's clear we were mistaken."

They wait a moment, but all they hear is rustling in response.

McCoy looks expectantly at Uhura, who continues with strained conviction, "Our friend is caught in one of your traps, we could use some assistance-"

Then four rugged figures emerge from their cover in the bushes. The woman steps up to the edge of the river like a batter to home plate, entirely in her own element.

She gives them a calm smile, "I believe we can help you more than you think, explorers.

"My name is Amanda Grayson."


End file.
